10 NFL franchises made changes to their head coaching position during the offseason, tying the record for most head-coaching changes in a single offseason.
As the season kicks off, which of these new hires will make the biggest impact on the 2026 season? This is based on how much each coach could improve his team’s trajectory in the next year. Rather than ranking the coaches by resume or who is most likely to win the most games. This list focuses on which new hire could make the biggest difference from where his team stood a year ago.
Honorable Mention: Mike McCarthy – Pittsburgh Steelers
McCarthy was the perfect coaching hire for Pittsburgh in that he was a fine hire for a middling team.
Perhaps that is selling the 2025 AFC North champion Steelers short. However, the reality is they will most likely be competing for another first-round exit. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. Yet they have managed to win at least eight games every year since.
The roster is largely veteran-driven, meaning there isn’t an expectation for young playmakers to burst onto the scene. Pittsburgh will likely win plenty of games again, possibly more than some other coaches on this list. However, it feels unlikely that they will punch above their usual range of eight to 10 wins. McCarthy may help them keep treading water, but a deep playoff run would be shocking, so his impact ranks lower than the more transformative hires.
5. Robert Saleh – Tennessee Titans
Saleh landing a head-coaching job so shortly after a tumultuous tenure with the New York Jets speaks to his reputation across the league. He took over the Jets in 2021 expecting to head a rebuild. In his second season, New York finished with the No. 4 defense in points allowed per game (18.6) and yards allowed per game (311.1).
However, the second half of Saleh’s Jets tenure was marred by Aaron Rodgers drama. Although the overall team success did not meet expectations, the defense, which is Saleh’s calling card, finished top four in yardage in each of his final three seasons there.
Saleh now gets a fresh start with Tennessee, again with expectations to turn around a struggling franchise.
While defense can remain his calling card, the offense opposite it must be better than it was in New York. None of Saleh’s offenses with the Jets cracked the top 20 in scoring. With 2025 first overall pick Cam Ward under center and Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator, the offense should have a higher floor than what Saleh dealt with in New York.
The Titans don’t have lofty expectations this year, but they have enough talent to make a significant jump. While the AFC South hosts two playoff teams from a year ago, the Titans could begin to close that gap this year, and if properly handled, Ward could emerge as one of the league’s promising young quarterbacks, which is why Saleh ranks here.
4. Kevin Stefanski – Atlanta Falcons
Someone has to win the NFC South, ideally with a winning record this year. Why not the Falcons?
Stefanski, a two-time Coach of the Year winner, has work to do to match his resume. His offenses have yet to reach elite status, but he has anchored some good units despite never having elite quarterback play. The uninspiring starting QB battle between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. likely continues that trend, though Stefanski has the chance to do something he rarely got to do in Cleveland: work high-end playmakers around the signal-caller.
After paying running back Bijan Robinson a contract extension in the offseason, Atlanta will likely lean on him to generate a strong rushing attack, which can in turn help the pass game.
During each of Cleveland’s playoff berths under Stefanski, the Browns ranked top-five in rush attempts. Drake London, Kyle Pitts and even Robinson out of the backfield give Atlanta enough to work with in quick-read offenses. This could bode well for Tagovailoa, who was a quick-trigger quarterback at his best with the Miami Dolphins.
The NFC South is completely up for grabs after the Carolina Panthers won last season despite a losing record. The Falcons are looking for their first playoff berth since 2017, which is very achievable, and that attainable jump helps explain why Stefanski is ranked here.
3. Joe Brady – Buffalo Bills
For someone assuming head-coaching responsibilities of one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks and most starved fanbases, Brady’s potential impact isn’t one expected to reshape the team’s identity. He needs no introduction in Buffalo, having spent the past four seasons there, including the past two as offensive coordinator.
Brady will continue to call plays for the offense, so there is unlikely to be any drastic change on that side of the ball. Instead, his biggest test will be taking over the locker room and guiding a team that has fallen short of its ultimate goal despite sustained regular-season success. His predecessor, Sean McDermott, did a good job maintaining a high floor through significant roster turnover. Yet Buffalo ultimately decided it needed a different voice to climb the mountain.
Brady’s new defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard, may actually deliver the biggest impact within Buffalo’s coaching staff. He will implement a new scheme for a unit that has been volatile in recent years. Entrusting Josh Allen with first-time coaches at their respective positions, Brady and Leonhard, is a bold move.
That makes Brady’s potential impact unique regarding this list. He isn’t being asked to turn around a struggling franchise or drastically change Buffalo’s identity. Instead, he has to turn a perennial contender into a legitimate Super Bowl winner. With Allen and a talented roster already in place, Brady has less room for error but also a tremendous burden to get the Bills over the top, keeping him high on this list.
2. John Harbaugh – New York Giants
It’s not often that a Super Bowl-winning coach with nearly two decades of experience falls into coaching free agency. That was the case for Harbaugh, though, and the Giants were quick to take him off the market.
The Giants seek professionalism and stability as the roster takes shape. Jaxson Dart looks like a promising quarterback of the future. Malik Nabers put up star production in his rookie season despite a dismal QB situation around him.
Meanwhile, New York’s defensive front is as promising a young core as there is, with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux making up a talented three-headed pass-rushing attack.
Harbaugh is a dying breed of NFL coaches, the CEO-style type that, while not known to be incredibly innovative on either side of the ball, has seen it all and can empower the supporting cast around him to succeed.
So much of the noise in recent years around a budding Giants core has been about locker room tensions and coaching distrust. Harbaugh hopes to replace that with a strong culture to help rein in the next era of Giants football, and that stabilizing effect is why he ranks near the top.
1. Jesse Minter – Baltimore Ravens
After 18 seasons, 317 games (regular and postseason), 13 playoff wins, and a Super Bowl, the Ravens fired John Harbaugh. It was a bold decision given Harbaugh’s longevity and proven high floor, but just three playoff wins under two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is not enough.
However, adding Minter isn’t about elevating Jackson himself. The Ravens trust Jackson to remain elite and lead a high-level offense, so Minter’s role is to add another layer to the team as a whole.
The Ravens are hoping Minter’s defensive expertise adds another layer of dangerous playmaking to the team as a whole.
Minter’s defense is known for clever disguises in the secondary and with his blitz packages. Kyle Hamilton will be a particularly fascinating chess piece in his schemes. Hamilton’s positional versatility, from playing deep to in the tackle box, will let Minter run many of his disguised concepts.
It was only three seasons ago that Baltimore’s defense won the “triple crown” — ranking first among all teams in points per game allowed (16.5), sacks (60) and takeaways (31). Many of the key playmakers from that unit remain, and the Ravens are banking on Minter to unlock that potential.
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